December 08, 2002

Trent Lott says that if the rest of the country had voted for Strom Thurmond, “we wouldn’t have had all these problems.” The only possible interpretation is that Trent Lott regrets the defeat of the positions of Thurmond’s campaign. Trent Lott regards the end of segregation and the end of lynching as “problems” which we, as a nation, shouldn’t have had. At least Thurmond had the sense to change his position over the years. It would seem Lott has not.

Trent Lott, as Republican Senate Majority Leader, has never been a particular friend of individual rights. He has acted as a stereotypical politician, bending with every wind and shifting with every tide. Now, however, he has pledged allegiance to a doctrine which is anathema to individual rights, to the United States Constitution and to the vast majority of Americans. This cannot be explained by political expediency. It must be his genuine conviction.

The question for the Republican Party is whether a man who gets misty eyed over lynchings and colored water fountains represents the Republican Party and whether such a man is fit to lead the Senate Republican caucus. If such a man is fit to serve as a leader of the Republican Party, then the Republican Party is the party of racism. If the Republican Party aspires to be the party of individual rights, then such a man has no place in the party leadership.

The Center for the Advancement of Capitalism calls for the resignation of Trent Lott from the leadership of the Republican Party. If Lott doesn't have the grace to resign, his peers should remove him.

Seems the Blogosphere is way ahead on this one. Where's everybody else?